Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

The World; Formerly Arrogant, Utterly Argentine

AT the Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, last month, several foreign ministers from Latin American countries derided President Carlos Saul Menem of Argentina after he arrived late for the official photo session, making 33 other heads of state, including President Clinton, wait.

Mr. Menem joked that his driver became lost and that he, the President of Argentina, had to walk. The incident was reason enough for the ministers to engage in a favorite Latin pastime -- Argentine bashing.

''Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish who think they are British,'' one minister said.

''What is ego?'' another asked. ''Ego is the little Argentine inside each of us.''

Whatever the reason, Argentines are without a doubt the most disdained group in Latin America. (Mr. Menem also raised eyebrows when he decamped early to visit flooded areas of his country.)

Argentines have long taken pride in their arrogance, perhaps as a way of covering over their own insecurities about their real identity. They flaunt their European ancestry and culture to their Latin American peers, who have mixed or indigenous blood. Now recent social and economic reforms suggest that the Argentine reputation for haughtiness may no longer be deserved. The view was perhaps rooted in a misunderstanding of a people who have historically vacillated between grand sophistication and banality.

Argentina has one of the highest literacy rates and standards of living in the region. It has produced world-class novelists, nuclear scientists, surgeons, architects, universities and cultural centers. And few cities in the world can compare with the night life here. Residents do not eat dinner until well after midnight and discos do not open until 2 A.M. and close after the sun rises.

Thin and Well Dressed

Yet as a society, it tends toward the superficial, which has encouraged many of its most talented citizens to emigrate. As a group, Argentines are obsessed with appearance; they are fashionably thin and well dressed, regardless of income. At the same time, the country, which consumes inordinate amounts of beef and cigarettes, has a high incidence of anorexia. Plastic surgery is also popular among both women and men.

''Argentina has been on the verge of greatness many times, only to see it slip away from us,'' said Horacio Ortega, a social historian. ''This has had a profound effect on our national psyche. We know we are capable, but we never live up to our potential. And that's where arrogance comes into play.''

For much of their history, Argentines have thought of themselves as a European outpost because so few of them have mixed blood. They built their country in the style of the homelands of ancestors who emigrated from Europe at the turn of the century. By the 1940's, Argentina, rich in farmland and natural resources, was one of the world's 10 most affluent countries, but in 1942 a string of military coups and economic missteps sank it into 40 years of chaos.

During the darkest period starting in 1976 -- in which military governments killed thousands of dissidents and ruined a robust economy -- perhaps the one thing that Argentines could be proud of was their Italian, English and Spanish heritage. They told their children to hold their heads high if for no other reason than they were better than other Latin Americans.

Losing the Falklands War to Britain in 1983 brought major social and economic change in Argentina, especially as far as how many Argentines viewed themselves. Embarrassed by its defeat, the military junta relinquished power to a democratically elected government.

''For decades, Argentines were the pale faces of Latin America, and we thought we were superior to everyone else,'' said Felipe A. Noguera, a political analyst. ''But after the Falklands War, we were greatly humbled and realized that we were in fact part of Latin America, and most of us stopped pretending to be something else.''

Perhaps a major indicator of Argentine insecurity is the country's heavy dependence on psychotherapy. The country has the world's highest concentration of psychologists. Many of them have said that a common theme in their practice is the search for cultural roots and identity.

Since taking office in 1989, Mr. Menem has abandoned a policy of isolationism and opened the economy to foreign investment and competition. He has also shifted Argentina's traditionally antagonistic relationship with the United States to one of almost unconditional support, particularly in foreign policy.

America's Ally

Mr. Menem has often tried to convince Argentines that the recent reforms are returning the country to the first rank of developed nations. But that has been a hard sell to many Argentines who have lost the cradle-to-grave employment and other benefits that were part of the protectionist era. Unemployment is high at 15 percent, but inflation has dropped sharply to 4 percent from 5,000 percent in 1990.

''For the first time in many decades, Argentines are having to compete on a global stage where ancestry doesn't really matter,'' said Raul Buonoume, an economist. ''We realize that we are being judged on our performance, our gross national product, our low inflation, and not on being European.''

Despite its setbacks, the country is one of the most highly developed in Latin America. It also has the highest per capita income. Still, some myths are so ingrained in the Argentine persona that they may never die.

The Argentine daily, La Nacion, recently published a series of axioms that are commonly believed by most Argentines: ''Buenos Aires is the only city in the world that has libraries open all night. Argentina has the best-looking women in the world. In Argentina, you just throw some seeds on the ground and they'll grow. Argentina has the best beef in the world. An Argentine can solve any problem with great genius.''

We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports,
and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.

A version of this article appears in print on May 24, 1998, on Page 4004012 of the National edition with the headline: The World; Formerly Arrogant, Utterly Argentine. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe